There hasn't been any movement on Jackie Chan's untitled action-comedy about a detective tracking down a gambler in almost a year but now Coming Soon has some news on Chan's first English-language film since THE KARATE KID.
Now called SKIPTRACE, the film will be directed by Sam Fell (PARANORMAN) and is be based off of an idea by Jackie Chan. Exclusive Media has agreed to produce and co-finance the film with Jay Longino (BACHELOR PARTY 2: THE LAST TEMPTATION) writting the script with help from Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, who also wrote THE SITTER. In addition, international star Fan Bingbing has signed on to the film although it is unknown what role she will play. The film also does not have a release date at this time.
So what is SKIPTRACE about?
The action comedy follows a Hong Kong detective (Chan) who is tasked with tracking down a mouthy American gambler on the run from his creditors. The men form an unlikely partnership and attempt to take down Hong Kong’s most notorious criminal, while embarking on a wild journey through some of China's most scenic and exotic locales.
I'm sure I won't be the first person to say it but SKIPTRACE sounds like it's one Chris Tucker away from being part of the RUSH HOUR franchise. This film unfortunately sounds like something we've seen dozens of times before and with Longino and company working on the script I don't have much confidence in SKIPTRACE. Like many of you my first exposure to Jackie Chan was RUMBLE IN THE BRONX and while I understand he's older now I think he can do a little better than another generic "two people from different cultures team-up to stop the bad guys" film.
At least he's going to be in THE EXPANDABLES 3…I think.